If you happen to be at a meeting in Australia and someone pulls out a laser pointer, you may want to ask them if they have a permit for that. Reuters is reporting that New South Wales state in Australia is listing laser pointers as a prohibited weapon. If you are caught with a laser pointer in the state without a permit it could cost you 14 years in jail.

The state took the drastic action after numerous incidents involving pilots of airplanes and helicopters reporting having their cockpits lit up by someone with a laser pointer aiming at them. Laser pointers can temporarily blind a victim if they are pointed at the victim’s eyes, which is bad news for a pilot landing an airplane or flying a helicopter.

I think this might be a little rash, but even the U.S. Constitution doesn’t give citizens the right to bear laser pointers. Of course, one could make the argument that it isn’t laster pointers that blind people. It’s the people that are using them that do. For some reason, that sounds like a familiar argument.